America's Forgotten Disasters
2 Million Gallons of Molasses Crushed a Neighborhood in Seconds
On January 15, 1919, a poorly constructed storage tank burst in Boston's North End, unleashing 2.3 million gallons of molasses in a wave 25 feet high moving at 35 miles per hour. Twenty-one people were killed and 150 injured. The resulting lawsuit lasted six years and established the legal precedent that corporations are liable for negligent construction.